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About this book

1 Enoch

About this book

The Book of the Watchers

Chapter 1

1 The words of Enoch's blessing, with which he blessed the chosen and righteous,⁠ who will live through the days of tribulation when all the wicked and godless will be removed. 2 He began his parable⁠ and said, Enoch, a righteous man, whose eyes were opened by God, saw the vision of the Holy One in the heavens, which the angels showed me. I heard everything from them, and from them I understood what I saw, not for this generation, but for a distant one yet to come. 3 Regarding the chosen I spoke, and took up my parable about them: The Holy Great One will emerge from His dwelling,⁠ 4 And the eternal God will walk upon the earth, even on Mount Sinai, and appear from His camp and reveal His might from the heavens above.⁠ 5 Everyone will be struck with fear and the Watchers will tremble, and great fear and trembling will grip them to the ends of the earth.⁠ 6 The high mountains will shake, the hills will be leveled, and they will melt like wax before the fire⁠ 7 The earth will be completely torn apart, and everything on it will perish, and there will be judgment upon all people. 8 But with the righteous, He will establish peace. He will protect the chosen, and mercy will be upon them. They will all belong to God, prosper, and be blessed. He will aid them, and light will shine for them,⁠ and He will make peace with them.⁠ 9 Look! He comes with tens of thousands of His holy ones⁠ to pass judgment upon all,⁠ to annihilate all the wicked,⁠ to convict every soul of all the godless deeds they have committed,⁠ and of all the harsh words that godless sinners have spoken against Him.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Joel 3:16 and 1 Enoch 1:5

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

1 Enoch describes mountains trembling at God’s approach, similar to Joel where God roars and the earth shakes. Both portray divine power through imagery of cosmic violence, connecting the descent of God with ancient Near Eastern storm deity traditions.

Passages

Joel 3:16

Hebrew Bible
14 Crowds, great crowds are in the Valley of Decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision! 15 The sun and moon are darkened; the stars withhold their brightness. 16 The Lord roars from Zion; from Jerusalem his voice bellows out. The heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge for his people; he is a stronghold for the citizens of Israel. 17 “You will be convinced that I, the Lord, am your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy— conquering armies will no longer pass through it.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joel

1 Enoch 1:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
4 And the eternal God will walk upon the earth, even on Mount Sinai, and appear from His camp and reveal His might from the heavens above. 5 Everyone will be struck with fear and the Watchers will tremble, and great fear and trembling will grip them to the ends of the earth. 6 The high mountains will shake, the hills will be leveled, and they will melt like wax before the fire 7 The earth will be completely torn apart, and everything on it will perish, and there will be judgment upon all people.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

References

"... Watchers are generally portrayed negatively in Greek BW, but their children are especially decried: in 10:9, they are titled ‘the bastards’, ‘the base ones’, and ‘the sons of fornication’. Part of Michael’s tasking in 10:15 is to “destroy all the spirits of the base ones”. Some ambiguous passages are also present, one of which is 1 Enoch 1:5: “all will be afraid, and the watchers will trust”. These watchers could be understood as obediently accompanying God at Sinai (1 Enoch 1:4, 9; Psalm 68). However, God’s approach shakes the peaks of the earth where the watchers are hidden (1:5). He comes to destroy the impious and their works (1:9). In 1 Enoch 1:5 then, it is unclear if they are rebellious or obedient ... The appearance of the celestial army on the mountain rather than hovering mid-air is likely related to divine council imagery. The mountain of God is the place where the divine assembly meets. There is ANE precedent for spiritual beings on this council also serving as part of the heavenly army. God’s ‘mountain of assembly’ was not restricted to a single geographic location. Moses’ final words in Deuteronomy 33:2 declared: “Yahweh came from Sinai, and he appeared clearly to them from Seir, and he came from mount Paran with the thousands of his holy ones: from his right hand [came] angels for them.” This speech also contains reference to Yahweh’s enthronement as King when in Jeshurun (Deuteronomy 33:5). God is pictured as the Sovereign who can dispatch angelic warriors to accomplish his will (compare Psalm 68). Well-known mountains of God include Eden (Ezekiel 28:13–14), Sinai and Zion (1 Kings 8; Psalm 2:6; Isaiah 2:3; Jeremiah 8:19; Joel 3:16-17; Amos 1:2; Micah 4:7; Zechariah 8:3), but Seir, Horeb, and Paran also became the mount of assembly when the council met ..."
Benjamin A. Pass, The Commander of Yahweh’s Host (Josh 5:13–15): Angels as Executors of God’s Judgement and War (Kingswood University, 2018), 62, 75.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Joel 3:16 and 1 Enoch 1:5

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